Police hunt missing boys

Police searching for a missing nine-year-old boy said today they are now looking for three boys.

Ben Wilson was reported missing after failing to return to his home in Witham, Essex, on Saturday evening.

Detectives now believe Ben is with two other boys - Rhys Hennebry, 10, and his 12-year-old brother Drew - after all three failed to return home last night.

A police spokeswoman said they were confident Ben was alive and well yesterday after staying overnight at the Hennebrys' house in Witham on Saturday.

The boys were last seen at around midday yesterday when they left home, saying they were going swimming.

The spokeswoman said they went out with nothing but their bikes and enough money to pay their way into the pool.

It is unclear whether they did go swimming.

Officers spent yesterday afternoon waiting for the Hennebry boys to return home to ask them about the whereabouts of Ben and searching the area for all three boys.

The spokeswoman said: "Although we now have some reassurance that Ben was certainly alive and well yesterday, we now have a situation of three very young boys missing from home and we still have serious concerns for their welfare.

"It is possible that the amount of police activity has made the boys anxious.

The message we need to drive home this morning is that they have done nothing wrong and that their families are worried and want them home."

Ben, who lives with his father and 12-year-old brother, is white, 4ft 6in, with mousy blond hair and a freckled face. He was thought to be wearing a black hooded top over an England shirt.

Rhys is white, 5ft with short light brown hair and brown eyes. He was wearing black, silk-effect tracksuit bottoms and a red Manchester United football shirt, a black Nike jacket and trainers.